Synopsis
Known in Munich, Moscow and Vancouver: Lili Marleen, one of the most famous songs of the last century. Its success began in the Second World War with the first performer, the German singer Lale Andersen. Every night at 10pm, her voice rang out over the military broadcaster Radio Belgrade, and moved soldiers of all nations to tears. Unknown until then, the singer became a superstar. A legend and a personal drama began; the borders between song and singer disappear. For millions of listeners, Lale Andersen became Lili Marleen and the song, her lucky charm and curse. However, at the height of her fame, Goebbels forbade the singer to perform or to leave the country. The reason: Lale Andersen’s correspondence with Jewish emigrants in Switzerland. But in the meantime, the song had become so popular and the listeners’ demand for Lili Marleen so high, that Lale Andersen was allowed to perform again after nine months. Andersen continued to sing the song at every concert after the war, and up unto her death, as if it were her only song, and her only talent.The film, based on Lale Andersen’s diaries, presents the story behind the Lale Andersen phenomenon: A self-confident, emancipated woman full of contradictions and immeasurable passion. Lale Andersen’s personal papers contradict the memories of her children and the 90-year-old composer of Lili Marleen, Norbert Schultze. The camera follows the trail of Lale Andersen and Lili Marleen through seven countries and to Kosovo, where every night at 10pm, the military broadcaster Radio Andernach plays a smoky voice from the past: Lale Andersen sings Lili Marleen.
